How we are paid
We firmly believe that in order to be truly independent it is important that our advice is not influenced by commissions provided by product providers or the need to “sell a product”. As Financial Planners our work includes more than just product advice and usually starts with producing a Financial Plan which will often involve Lifestyle Planning, Financial Planning advice, and then Independent Financial advice.
As a professional firm, we charge fees for our services, the amount of which we will agree before we proceed. However, certain of the transactions which we arrange for our clients may result in our being paid commissions and we will discuss and agree with our clients how these should be treated. We may keep this commission or we may pass on the full value of that commission to you in one or more ways. For example, we could reduce our fee; or reduce your product charges; or increase your investment amount; or refund the commission to you. Commissions may sometimes be paid at the outset of a transaction and may sometimes take the form of on-going payments. For convenience we may accrue such on-going payments, but in all cases we will account to our clients for all sums received.
Fees can be paid directly by the client or any available commission can be used. If this is not sufficient to cover our costs the client can pay the balance directly. As fee based financial planners our costs are based on the amount of time and the level of service we provide to clients. For example this can be broken down into:-
First and Second Meetings (Lifestyle Planning, Financial Planning)
Implementation of recommendations (Independent Financial Advice)
Ongoing advice (Annual Financial Planning Meetings – Lifestyle Planning, Financial Planning)